WV and National Disaster News - August 2, 2024

West V​irginia

Disaster Recovery

• FEMA disaster recovery center continues to serve people in Wood and Roane counties for damage due to April 11 & 12 Storms (WTAP News) - ​See more information about FEMA Assistance for the April 11-12, 2024 storm damage at: WV EMD

• Mental Health Services are a Critical Component of Disaster Response  (Homeland Security Today) - Anyone who has ever been impacted or responded to a disaster knows first-hand about the trauma that occurs to each of us. Tragedy, fear, and despair challenge us physically, intellectually, and emotionally. 

• Emergency training drill underway in Kanawha County (WCHS News) - In order to be better prepared to handle real-life emergencies, local police, fire and EMS personnel came together last Wednesday for joint training exercises in Kanawha County. 

Hot Weather & Health Safety

• Heat deaths of people without air conditioning, often in mobile homes, underscore energy inequity (WV News) - Advocates say air conditioning is no longer a luxury but a public health and affordability issue. 

Opioid Epidemic

• West Virginia First Foundation wants to pick up the pace on selecting projects to soothe effects of epidemic (Metro News)

National News

Disaster Recovery

• How an EPA team helped clean up a giant fire mess while respecting local culture (Federal Drive)
• A displaced Lahaina resident's year-long journey to secure housing after the wildfire (Hawaii Pubic radio)

• Drought is widespread and intense in the eastern United States: What to know (The Washington Post-paywall) 

• Storm to bring spotty rain, wind and lightning to fire zone in western US (AccuWeather)
• Severe storms rock Plains, Midwest with 5-inch hail and 95-mph winds (AccuWeather)
• Possible Tropical Depression Or Storm Could Soak Florida, Southeast Coast (The Weather Channel) 

Wildfire

• Denver-area wildfire turns deadly as California's Park Fire torches an area larger than Los Angeles (AccuWeather)
• Hermit's Peak Calf Canyon Wildfire victims, seeing a 'new page turned' following resolved FEMA lawsuits (KRQE News 13) 

OTHER

• State attorneys general urge government to recognize major new disasters: 'People are suffering and dying' (The Cool Down) - Fourteen attorneys general from U.S. states and the District of Columbia are urging the federal government to recognize extreme heat and wildfire smoke as major disasters.